John West Salmon 'Bear'

This is one of two in the list to come from the combination of Paul Silburn and Danny Kleinman.

The ad became so popular that it turned into one of the world's first internet virals.

It starts, tamely enough, in the style of a nature documentary, showing a group of bears catching salmon at the mouth of a river.
Agency
Leo Burnett
Date
2000
Writer
Paul Silburn
Art director
Paul Silburn
Director
Danny Kleinman
Production company
Spectre


But things take a turn for the downright bizarre when a John West fisherman enters the fray and starts fighting one of the bears, kung-fu style.

The entertaining bout ends when the fisherman distracts the bear by pointing to an imaginary eagle and kicks his adversary in the balls.

The ad was viewed online by more than 300 million people by 2006 and Leo Burnett picked up the BTAA Commercial of the Year in 2001 for the ad.